


Time Marches On

by Miranthia



Series: The Adventures of a Sky Badger [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-18 21:05:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13108515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miranthia/pseuds/Miranthia
Summary: "Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory." --Dr. Seuss





	Time Marches On

_She remembers it like it was just yesterday._  
  
They had all known that she was going to follow into her siblings’ footsteps without a doubt. When she was born she was already displaying the telltale signs of being a Metamorphmagus, both her eye and hair color changing rapidly within minutes. When she was barely a year old she was already making the unexplainable happen, just as the others had, but with far more intensity than they had. The animals would come up to her with no preamble whatsoever, as if she were one of them, was possibly one of the more extraordinary signs of them all.  
  
So, while they all knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was like them, it still came as a surprise to her when she received her acceptance letter not long after her eleventh birthday. It was quite a shock at first; she was the youngest of seven, and of all of her siblings, only two others had gotten letters as well.  
  
If she were to be completely honest with herself, she would admit that dread for this day had been growing in the pit of her stomach. Not because she didn’t want to go, but because of how she thought it would make her other siblings feel. When her oldest sister, Willow, got her letter it wasn’t much of a surprise; she had shown signs at a young age as well, and while their parents were Muggles they had both grown up with magic in their immediate families. But when another letter didn’t arrive for her eldest brother, and instead came for the next, there was a slight bit of jealousy.  
  
Of course this was before she had even come around, but she had been privy to that knowledge and felt the sting of it. While it did stir up some harsh feelings amidst the kids, it was only a fleeting feeling, much to everyone’s relief.  
  
The surge of joy and happiness that raced through her as she clutched the thick parchment to her, grinning from ear-to-ear as her family congratulated her and hugged her from all directions was enough to power an entire city.  
  
She was a witch. And she would be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!  
  
Hogwarts.  
  
She had dreamt of the place for as long as she could remember. For as long as her sister Willow had been attending. She returned each year with such incredible stories; amazing even to a toddler. Then after Finley’s first year he would add to those stories, making the longing in her little heart almost burst forth from within her.  
  
She would give anything to go!  
  
Now she stood with the other trembling first years, hungrily drinking in the sights and sounds of the Great Hall that she had heard so much about. The enchanted ceiling was by far her favorite thing thus far, but she eagerly drank everything before her in. The sights, the smells, the song from the old dusty hat washing over her as she tried to familiarize herself with her new home. She could pick out the silvery forms of the ghosts between the seated students, all of their faces turned towards their soon-to-be schoolmates.  
  
The singing came to a halt and a hearty applause rang out, the hall full of a buzzing energy as a roll of parchment was unfurled. She bounced up and down on her toes in anticipation, her heart racing as she scanned the tables once more, movement catching her eye. She grinned and returned the wave, spying her brother at one of the tables, before doing the same to a different table, her sister seated at it. There was some cheering erupting from the furthest table from her, but it didn’t reach her as the girl next to her sister waved at her as well, flashing her a brilliant smile that reached her sparkling green eyes.  
  
Minerva McGonagall.  
  
Her sister's’ best friend in the whole world.  
  
She spent most of her summer’s at the Hawthorne residence, gossiping away with Willow part of the time, but most of the time all of the children, Minerva included, were going off on adventures. She played with all of them, and made all of them feel like they were equals. But she seemed to pay the most attention to the youngest of the children; the one with the sky blue eyes and extraordinary magical skills.  
  
The glow in her cheeks warmed her to her core as she returned the wave, pulling herself out of her thoughts as her name echoed through the hall.  
  
“Hawthorne, Susan!”  
  
She walked up to the stool, the former heat leaving her as she carefully pulled herself up on it, an empty nervousness overtaking her.  
  
What if she wasn’t in the same house as one of her siblings?  
  
She had never been alone a day in her life. She was always with her family!  
  
‘No need to be frightened, little dearie, it will all work out in the end. Now where to put you?’ A little voice whispered in her ear, calming her somewhat.  
  
‘With Fin, or Will!! Please, I don’t know how to do this without them!’  
  
The little voice chuckled quietly. ‘You, my dear, will do just fine, I promise. You will never truly be alone here, and you have been doing this without them just fine. There is only one clear choice for you; I could see it before I was even sat upon your head.’  
“HUFFLEPUFF!”  
  
A stone seemed to settle in the pit of her stomach as she slid off of the stool and drifted towards the table that was cheering, several of the older students beckoning for her to come sit with them.  
  
“‘Ey there! You must be Fin an’ Will’s little sister, eh?”  
  
She grinned slightly and shook the hand that was offered to her, trying hard to swallow back the tears she knew would come. “Y….yeah, that’s me. I’m Susan.”  
  
“Good t’ meet ya! I’m McCoy, one o’ the Prefects.” He winked at her and patted her on the shoulder, nodding towards the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor tables. “They’ve told us a lot about ya; they pretty much knew you’d be with us. Don’t worry lass, you’re in good hands with us Puffs.”  
  
She felt the dread and the sadness leave her as she grinned back at the friendly boy beside her, ease settling over her as she returned the waves of her siblings and friend once more.   
  
She was going to adjust to this new, wondrous place just fine.  
  
  
“Dear, would you please just relax? It’s not like she’s going off to war or anything.”  
  
“I  _am_  relaxed, I promise.”  
  
A hand pressed down on the top of her jiggling leg, forcing it to cease its mindless movement. A skeptical, albeit amused, green gaze met that of a nervous sky blue one. “Breathe, Susan. There’s nothing to be worried about.”  
  
She took in a deep breath and let out a short sigh, grinning as she covered the hand on her leg. “I know, it’s just…. It’s so bizarre, going through this again. I mean not me personally, this is our daughter and our niece we’re talking about, but…..”  
  
A squeeze, and the babbling ceased. The woman shook her head and chuckled lightly. “I know love, I know.”  
  
She fell silent and scanned the line of nervous looking first years, looking for the small brunette and blonde amidst the crowd. She couldn’t find them and soon gave up, the Care of Magical Creatures professor shifting in her seat slightly. “I can’t help but wonder how many of them would have been here, if they……”  
  
She felt another squeeze and returned her gaze to that of her wife’s, smiling in reassurance. “I’m alright, I promise.”  
  
Truth be told, though, it was harder on her than she wanted to admit, even though it had been years. It got easier with time, but only just. She couldn’t help but wonder how many nieces and nephews she would have; how many of them would have shared her magical talents, how many of them would have never gotten to witness this glorious place that she called home? Willow had been the only one, aside from herself, to survive that day, along with Willow’s daughter Rowan. Ro had gone to Ilvermony, but in the following years, they had decided to move back to their family’s farm in Scotland. Willow had married and settled down, giving Rowan some brothers and sisters, superficially filling the gaping hole that was still in their hearts.  
  
In turn, Susan's not-so-little niece blessed them with great nieces and nephews.  
  
It would never be the same, but they had each other to hold on to.  
  
A hand squeezing hers once more brought her back to reality and she snapped her eyes to the front as the first student was called up to the stool. As the line started to dwindle, clapping and cheering echoing throughout the magnificent hall, her eyes landed on two small figures standing together, their hands clasped tightly around one another’s.  
  
“Min!  _Min_ , there they are!”  
  
She could see the same nervous excitement in the eyes of the other woman, Susan squeezing her hand in return.  
  
“Hawthorne-McGonagall, Adelaide!”  
  
The brunette strode forward, letting go of the little blonde’s hand at the last second as she climbed up onto the stool, the hat placed upon her head. They both knew from the moment they had adopted her as a newborn that she belonged here. She had grown up hearing stories from both her mothers’ about the things they did when they themselves were kids; their time at Hogwarts, the fall of the dark Lord Voldemort, and everything else in between. The little girl had squealed in awe about the prospect of an entire school dedicated to learning magic, and she had insisted on going right then and there. Of course they couldn’t, but they described the castle in so much detail that Adelaide had felt like she had lived there as well.  
  
She was close to all of her cousins, and loved everything about her family. She had always wondered about the people in the photographs that she did not know, but felt like it was never the right time to ask. One day, when she was older, Susan would tell her what happened to the rest of them. But for now, that was a story for another time.  
  
Susan felt Minerva squeezing her hand again, her green eyes glued to the figure on the stool as the brim of the hat opened wide, its decision finally made.  
  
“HUFFLEPUFF!”  
  
“I told you she would take after you.”  
  
“Whatever, she’s just like you, too. Badgers and lions are both pretty feisty!”  
  
The two beamed at each other over their clapping hands, Susan reaching over to swipe a small tear off of Minerva’s face. “ _Who_  was the one that needed to relax?”  
  
“Oh hush.”  
  
Several more students were called forth, another round of nervousness clenching her gut as she watched the little blonde fidget in the line. She was reminded so strongly of herself when she was a first year that she almost laughed aloud.  
  
“McCoy, Finley!”  
  
The little girl all but skipped forward, both Susan and Minerva snorting quietly into their hands. The hat was barely placed on her head before it shouted out, “HUFFLEPUFF!”, the youngster grinning from ear to ear and dashing off to join Adelaide at the table.  
  
“Well, that was a bit….”  
  
“Surprising?” Minerva asked with a slight smirk, eyeing her wife in amusement. “Why do you say that?”  
  
“She’s so much like Fin was, I could’ve sworn she would have been in Ravenclaw.”  
  
“Did Fin ever tell you that he was meant to be in Hufflepuff?”  
  
“What?!” Susan asked in shock, before grinning slightly, an eyebrow raised in disbelief. “You’re having me on, aren’t you?”  
  
“No, not at all. He told me about it one year. He said the only reason why he didn’t want to be in Hufflepuff was because yellow wasn’t his color.”  
  
Susan laughed out loud at that, ignoring some of the looks she had received from her fellow staff members. The last of the students were finally being sorted and she took the time to wipe away the tears streaming down her face. “Yeah…..yeah that definitely sounds like my brother.”  
  
She took in a deep breath and sighed in content, waving cheerfully towards her daughter and niece as the Sorting Hat was taken away, Minerva rising on her left to begin the start of term feast. Her eyes were drawn to the enchanted ceiling, the beautiful night sky above them. The stars were twinkling brightly, not a cloud in site to mar their view of the heavens above. After all of her years in this new, enchanting place, the ceiling was still by far her most favorite thing about the castle.


End file.
